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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011163">Bodies Falling Together like Rain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie'>punk_rock_yuppie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Boys (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Barebacking, Cunnilingus, Established Relationship, F/M, Knotting, M/M, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M, Vaginal Sex, jerking off</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:14:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,822</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011163</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Don’t ask Hughie how two alphas fucking each other proves that one of them is the better mate for their shared omega—he hasn’t been able to wrap his head around it since Butcher first suggested it. That said, Hughie’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, and he’s had more than his fair share of fantasies about his two alphas together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Billy Butcher/Starlight | Annie January, Hughie Campbell/Billy Butcher, Hughie Campbell/Billy Butcher/Starlight | Annie January, Hughie Campbell/Starlight | Annie January</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bodies Falling Together like Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i just really wanted to write omega!hughie watching alphas!billy and annie fucking, so this happened! </p>
<p>big thanks to han for beta'ing!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s not like Hughie is ashamed of his status as an omega or anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Sure, when he was younger, he was embarrassed by it. That was more because of school than anything else. Kids are cruel, and even though it’s hardly outside the norm for a guy to be an omega, they’ll take whatever little crumb of insecurity they can find and run with it. He’d been embarrassed by the fact that his dad was an omega too, and that his alpha mom had abandoned them both for no apparent reason.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>But as Hughie’s gotten older, he’s accepted his status. Likes it, even. There’s something thrilling about being desired; he likes the idea of being protected by an alpha, someone who wants to unendingly care for him. Robin had been a perfect balance—an alpha who wanted to protect Hughie, cherish him, but never stopped pushing him to do more. Some omegas settle into an easy lifestyle, like one of a luxurious pet, and Robin made it clear that that’d never be enough for Hughie. She was right, too; he doesn’t want to stagnate or luxuriate or whatever else. He wants to be Somebody, with a capital ‘S.’</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><span>He just also wants to be nurtured and cared for, which is why Butcher and Annie just…</span><em>work</em> with him. Both strong alphas, even more intimidating than Robin ever was. At a glance, it would seem like Butcher’s the hardass who pushes Hughie to be bigger, better than just an omega working in a tech store—and that’s somewhat true. At a glance, it would seem like Annie’s the sweet and gentle one, who coddles Hughie and stands like a white knight in front of any danger—and that’s somewhat true, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The full truth, though, they’re both hardasses and they’re both sweet and gentle. Butcher’s sweetness is maybe buried a bit deeper, his gentleness still calloused and rough, but both are there. He’s sweet when he kisses Hughie’s forehead before crawling out of bed in the morning, mostly because he thinks Hughie is asleep and won’t notice. He’s gentle when he manhandles Hughie into bed, covetous and devoted. Meanwhile Annie lights a fire under Hughie’s ass without hardly trying; there’s just something awe-inspiring about her, and she knows how it gets to Hughie. So she uses it to propel him, encourage him, to fight the good fight even when he feels like giving up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And neither of them makes him feel lesser for his status. It’s a less common thing nowadays, particularly with Supes so at the forefront of everything—people care more about Supe versus human than alpha versus omega these days. Butcher, for all his gruffness and rough edges, and Annie, for all her Midwest charm and traditional values, neither of them make Hughie feel like being an omega makes him different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>So yeah, it’s not like Hughie is ashamed of his status or anything. Not even as he lays on one side of the bed, idly half-hard, and watches Butcher loom over Annie.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>It’s not that Hughie couldn’t fuck Annie through her rut. He could, and he has, and it’s glorious. Just like when he’s helped Butcher with his rut. It’s exhausting but rewarding; it soothes the primal instinct in the back of Hughie’s brain that tells him to submit and serve his alphas. Annie’s never had a complaint about Hughie’s skills, and any complaints of Butcher’s are only for show. Hughie is a good omega, he knows that. He also knows that the decision to have Butcher fuck Annie through her rut has nothing to do his with lack of ability and everything to do with his alphas and their ridiculous bid for dominance.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Don’t ask Hughie how two alphas fucking each other proves that one of them is the better mate for their shared omega—he hasn’t been able to wrap his head around it since Butcher first suggested it. That said, Hughie’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, and he’s had more than his fair share of fantasies about his two alphas together. Sure, the three of them have fooled around together, but Hughie has always been the focus, often in the midst of a heat.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>This is different. Hughie gets to watch, drink his fill of the two most beautiful people he knows, and there’s no pressure on him. There’s not the ache of his heat suffocating him and rendering him nearly senseless. He gets to be entirely coherent as he watches Butcher and Annie together, and an excited whimper escapes him at the thought. Butcher and Annie haven’t even started yet, so both their heads swivel over to Hughie.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“I can smell you from here,” Butcher says, sounding far from upset by the news.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie grins. It’s hard to feel self-conscious with such a gift presented to him. “Don’t mind me,” he says with an absent wave of his hand. He’s not surprised when Annie reaches out and catches his hand, links their fingers and squeezes. “C’mon, guys, this isn’t about me. This is about Annie.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher snorts but doesn’t argue. He extends his own hand and pulls Annie away from Hughie, pinning her wrist to the bed, up by her head. “Lad’s right,” he murmurs. “How are you doing?”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Annie inhales slowly, deeply. “Fine, for now.” She squirms anyway. “The sooner we get started, the better.” With her free hand she reaches up to the first button of Butcher’s tropical-print shirt. Butcher lets her touch, deft fingers undoing the buttons in a flash, before shrugging the shirt off and dropping it over the side of the bed. He has to let go of Annie’s wrist to do it, and once he’s shirtless he reaches for the hem of Annie’s tee.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie’s cock is rapidly filling and they’re just undressing each other; not for the first time, he wonders if he’ll survive watching this. If he doesn’t, what a way to go.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Annie lets Butcher pull her shirt up and off. When Butcher makes an appreciative hum at the sight of her bare breasts, Annie preens. Hughie preens too, just a little; he’s proud of his alpha, her gorgeous body. It’s a little painful not to reach out and touch her, but he’s more entranced by watching Butcher’s huge, rough hands traveling over Annie’s sun-kissed chest.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher cups her breasts momentarily, squeezing them and brushing his thumbs over her nipples before bending down and mouthing at the dip of her chest between her tits. Hughie can hear the faint scrape of his beard over Annie’s skin, though it’s quickly overshadowed by her shaky gasp. Butcher moves slowly and savors his time as he turns and takes one of Annie’s nipples into his mouth. He suckles gently but Hughie can see the way her body startles, overwhelmed by the shocks of pleasure. She’s always been sensitive, but it’s different to see her reactions at the hands of someone other than Hughie himself.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher lavishes the same kind of attention to Annie’s other nipple before sliding down, nipping at her stomach and suckling a love bite into the fat around her hips. His hands trail her body too, resting at the curve of her waist and then at the waistband of her sweats. “Can I?” he asks, voice a low rumble spoken against her stomach.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Annie nods, blonde hair flopping across the pillows. She lifts her hips as Butcher drags her sweats down her long legs, throwing them behind him, uncaring of where they land. Hughie can’t resist reaching out and running his hand over Annie’s bare thigh; he loves her thighs, strong and smooth, powerful. He loves being between her thighs, knowing she could crush him easily and she doesn’t, because she loves him that much.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Look at you,” Butcher says and Hughie isn’t sure if he’s talking to him or to Annie. Hughie glances up at Butcher’s dark gaze and still doesn’t know, because Butcher keeps looking back and forth between them.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Butcher,” Annie gasps when they’ve been still and silent for too long. “Fuck, please.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie and Butcher give identical shivers at that. Hughie drags his hand back up Annie’s body and moves closer, tucking himself against her side. He glances at Butcher again, for approval, and is soothed by the nod he receives. Butcher sinks down between Annie’s legs and drags his cheek along the inside of her thighs, where the skin is soft and sensitive.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“You’re so wet,” Butcher marvels. Hughie knows when he brushes a finger over Annie’s clit because she stiffens against Hughie. She reaches for him and knots a hand in his hair like she needs something to hold on to, so she can weather Butcher’s touch. “Christ.” Butcher sounds strangled, the same way he does when Hughie’s sloppy wet and open for him, and Hughie can’t help feeling pleased by that.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>For as much as he loves his alphas, and as much as they love him, Butcher and Annie’s relationship together has been tenuous at best. A grudging respect and understanding born of too many life-or-death situations where they had no choice but to rely on each other and help one another. They’ve come a long way and that’s something to celebrate, even if there’s still a ways to go before Hughie would call what Butcher and Annie have ‘love.’</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie’s lost in his thoughts so he doesn’t notice Butcher moving between Annie’s thighs. He only realizes what’s happened when Annie lets out a shout, her hand tightening in Hughie’s hair and her hips jumping to meet Butcher’s mouth. Hughie knows firsthand how talented Butcher’s tongue is and it’s riveting to watch Annie come apart because of it. Her thighs tremble with the effort it takes for her to not rut against Butcher’s face.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie also knows that Butcher would be content to stay between a lover’s thighs for as long as he’s allowed. It’s especially clear in the relaxed tilt of his brow, the moans that filter out around the lewd sounds of him licking inside Annie, the gentle way he thrusts his dick against the edge of the bed for some relief. Hughie wants to give him that relief, aches with the urge to satisfy his alpha, but he knows that’s not the plan tonight.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><span>Annie gasps like she’s coming up for air and none too gently knees Butcher upside the head. “Need you in me.” When Hughie glances at Annie, she’s got that look in her eyes—the faint gold glow from her powers nearly drowned out by how dilated her pupils are. She’s tipping over into a full rut, the mindless and desperate need to </span><em>fuck</em> filling up her mind inside and out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher sits up between her legs and wipes her slick off his chin. His beard still glistens slightly and Hughie wants to kiss him, taste Annie on his lips. “Alright,” Butcher says. He sits back long enough to get his own jeans undone and shoved down to his thighs. He hooks his hands under Annie’s knees and lifts her legs for a better angle.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie chokes on his next inhale when he sees the reddened skin between her legs and it makes him crave beard burn of his own. Butcher’s eyes dart to him, full of promise like he knows exactly what Hughie is thinking.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Hughie,” Annie breathes, “touch me.” She reaches out with her free hand and drags Hughie’s hand across her body, down to her clit. Obediently, Hughie rubs two fingers gently against her clit after getting a bit of slick from her entrance. The glide is easy, smooth, something to take the edge off since Butcher’s cock is bigger than Hughie’s. The stretch is going to be more than Annie has had in a while, and Hughie wonders if she’s as excited as he is about that fact.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Look at you,” Butcher says again, awed, and it’s clear he means the both of them, this time. He props one of Annie’s legs over his shoulder and grips his cock by the base and starts to move forward. Hughie realizes he’s holding his breath as he watches Butcher tease the tip of his dick between Annie’s lips, gathering her slick on the tip. Annie shivers at the tease and brings the heel of her foot down against Butcher’s back. “Needy,” Butcher says, the same way he says it to Hughie.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Fucking give it to me, Butcher,” Annie barks out, and oh, Hughie loves this side of her. It’s not often that Annie gets angry or rough in bed. She’s a lot of soft edges and sweetness, but sometimes her ruts are too strong, natural instinct overriding everything else. Hughie loves it when she bares her teeth, when she holds him down and takes what she wants and all he can do is writhe underneath her. Seeing her turn that attitude on Butcher now makes Hughie’s head swim with arousal.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher doesn’t keep teasing her at least, although there’s a glint in his eyes that speaks to trouble in the future. A frisson of excitement runs up Hughie’s spine at the thought of them doing this again, outside of a rut. Butcher pushes forward and lets out a groan as his head slides inside Annie; Annie is silent but she throws her head back, throat flexing as she swallows over and over.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Fuck,” she rasps as Butcher starts to sink inside her. He’s slow, patient, a good alpha who knows how to read his partner’s body perfectly. The room is silent as Butcher pushes inside her until he’s in to the hilt, and then he stills. Annie lets out a heavy breath, her tits bouncing with the motion. “God, he’s big.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Yeah,” Hughie says. He simultaneously wishes he was the one getting fucked, or doing the fucking, and yet never wants this to end. “Feels so good,” he says, shivering at the sense-memory of Butcher’s cock splitting him open. Hughie presses a little harder on her clit as Annie adjusts to the girth inside her. He can feel her hips moving in tiny circles under his touch, like she wants more but knows she isn’t quite ready. “You can take it,” Hughie says, cheeks coloring.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Annie nods. Her hair is starting to stick to her forehead with sweat and the blush on her cheeks is ruddy and blotchy. “Move,” she says, part-demand and part-plea. Butcher obliges without complaint and pulls out, one hand on Annie’s leg and the other on her hip for leverage, before slamming back home. Annie grips Hughie’s hair tight in response as she shouts with pleasure and Hughie answers her with a moan of his own.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>It’s like—like a fucking Rube Goldberg machine. Literally. If Hughie wasn’t so distracted by how hard he is, how desperately he wants both his alphas, he’d laugh. Butcher fucks Annie slow but hard and in response she yanks at Hughie’s hair, like dominoes falling against each other in perfect order.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Need more,” Annie pants and her hand loosens in Hughie’s hair.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>He can’t help his whimper, nor can he help the way he pushes against her hand when she pets his head.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Sorry, Hughie,” she murmurs, chest heaving, “I need more.” She turns and tugs him into a brief kiss, licking across his bottom lip and leaving him wanting more. He whines again but leans back. Annie pushes at his hand too and he lays it along the inside of her thigh instead, just to feel close to her.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“S’alright, lad,” Butcher says and he moves closer. He presses deeper into Annie and looms over her. He’s close enough that Hughie can smell him, the scent of alpha and sweat and whatever cologne Butcher likes to wear. “You’ll get yours.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie can’t help but squirm. Were he a little more far-gone, he might rut up against Annie’s side, might just come in his boxers simply from watching his alphas fuck. As it is, he keeps his dick to himself and watches as Butcher braces an elbow on the bed. He’s practically bending Annie in half now, grinding slowly inside her for a moment before he pulls out and slams forward. The slap of skin on skin is lewd but Annie’s moan is downright pornographic.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie feels faintly like he’s being dragged into rapid river currents as Butcher sets up a punishing pace, pounding inside Annie harder and faster than Hughie himself has ever managed. Every moan sounds like it’s punched from Annie, and like she loves it. Her eyes are fluttering shut and her mouth is open and Hughie moans at how beautiful she looks. He wants to be her, he wants to be Butcher, he wants it all.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Your knot,” Annie gasps as her whole body goes tense. She’s close, Hughie can tell. She reaches up and rakes her hands down Butcher’s arms, nails leaving faint red marks in their wake. “C’mon, Butcher, give it to me.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher shakes as he does as requested, thrusting forward a few more times before he stills as his knot pops inside Annie. Hughie wishes he could see it splitting her open. Butcher had fucked him in front of a mirror once, held up his leg so Hughie could see where they were joined, and the sight haunts Hughie in the best way possible. If he thought he could stand right now without tipping over, Hughie would climb off the bed and steal a peek.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><span>As he watches Butcher and Annie breathe together, he thinks, </span><em>next time</em>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“She’s close,” Hughie says. His voice sounds wrecked and strangled to his own ears, which is crazy when he’s barely been touched. Butcher listens, though—and Hughie spares a thought for how nice it would be if Butcher listened this well outside of the bedroom, too, but that’s probably unrealistic—and thrusts. He can’t pull out but he can grind his hips forward. Hughie can practically feel it himself—the tug of Butcher’s knot at his rim, the way it fills him up so much it’s like he can feel Butcher in his throat, the burning hot touch of skin like a brand inside him.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher’s grunting, his face buried against Annie’s neck. Hughie is still huddled close, still with a hand on Annie’s thigh. He can feel Butcher brushing against his hand every time he presses forward, and Hughie desperately wants more. Hughie’s contemplating sticking a hand down his pants to relieve some of his arousal when Annie’s hand finds his hair again and she tugs him in close. She pulls him until he’s pressed all along her side with no choice but to tuck his face against her neck, too. He and Butcher surround her, their scents mingling with hers, and not for the first time Hughie aches for them to share mating marks.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><span>“Oh, </span><em>oh</em>,” Annie gasps as she goes tense. Her hand is tight in Hughie’s hair to cradle him close. He doesn’t know where her other hand is, but he’ll find out later she raked it down Butcher’s back, nearly drawing blood. Butcher lets out a contented moan and when it vibrates across Annie’s skin, Hughie can feel it too. Hughie knows Butcher is coming too, pumping inside of Annie load after load, and Hughie whimpers. He burrows closer, gripping at Annie’s thigh and rubbing his cock against her hip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><span>He feels bad, a little, to be invading the afterglow so soon, and it’s not that he’s disappointed. Far from it, he’s loved this, and is looking forward to an entire three days of it as they work through Annie’s rut. But he’s needy, his omega instincts filling up his head like a noxious gas, and he needs </span><em>more</em>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Touch yourself,” Annie breathes after a few moments of silence. Her hand has gentled in Hughie’s hair. She brushes through his curls lovingly. “For us, Hughie, do it.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie looks up to stare at her. It feels a little like he’s forgotten how to move.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher finally lifts his head. He tilts his chin ever so slightly and Hughie knows to lean in and kiss him. He can feel Annie underneath them, warm and soft, and Hughie’s cock only twitches more desperately. “Touch yourself,” Butcher commands as well.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><span>Hughie whimpers and lets go of Annie’s thigh to stick his hand down his sweats instead. The first touch is almost enough to bowl him over. He’s hard enough he feels like he could cut glass. He wants more than his hand but he knows his alphas will give it to him when they can, when they aren’t stuck together by Butcher’s knot and when Annie’s rut passes so she can take him apart properly. Hughie strokes himself fast and clumsy. It’s dry because he doesn’t even bother to catch precome from the tip to slick the way. He just wants to </span><em>come</em>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>He startles when he feels a hand on his hip but it’s just Butcher, reaching out to tug Hughie’s sweats down and expose his cock. Butcher can’t go far, but he sits up a bit and gestures to Annie’s stomach, shimmering with a faint sheen of sweat. She’d look good with Hughie’s come on her stomach and Hughie groans.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“That’s it,” Butcher murmurs approvingly.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Such a good boy,” Annie agrees before tugging at Hughie’s hair.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>It’s the perfect combination to tip him over the edge. He hiccups out an inelegant moan, eyes slamming shut as he fucks into the tight circle of his first. He spills his load over Annie’s stomach in two spurts, with the third and final spurt drooling lazily from the tip of his cock and pooling in the dip of her hip. Hughie pants from the force of his orgasm and all but falls on the bed beside them, still cuddled close.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>He’s sleepy, but Butcher’s rustling keeps him from drifting off. “Butcher,” he whines.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Just getting comfortable, piss off,” Butcher says without heat. He eventually seems to decide on just laying against Annie despite the fact it means Hughie’s come will basically glue them together. Hughie snorts slightly at the thought and isn’t surprised when Butcher gently cuffs him up the head.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“Don’t fall asleep,” Annie tells Hughie. “I’d say you’ve got an hour before the rut really takes over, and we’re going to need snacks.”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Hughie nods. “Five minutes,” he promises, eyes already falling shut. As he starts to drift off, he listens to Butcher and Annie.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“You know he ain’t going to get up right?” Butcher asks.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Annie’s smile is bright in her voice. “I know,” she says fondly.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“You alright?”</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>“I’m great.” Annie sounds content. “A girl could get used to this.” Hughie’s not quite asleep yet and he can hear the faint waver of uncertainty in her voice. Like she’s worried about crossing an invisible line.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>Butcher’s response isn’t immediate but close to it. He sounds content, too, and fond as he says, “So could I.” </span>
  </span>
</p>
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